Schmelvis (2002)

• 79%
• 2002
• Documentary

An offbeat documentary about the real-life Jewish roots of Elvis Presley. When the Wall Street Journal revealed that Elvis's great great grandmother was Jewish, and that according to Jewish law that made him Jewish, the filmmakers set out to explore the King's Jewish roots. So they brought a Hasidic Elvis impersonator named Dan Hartal, whose stage name was Schmelvis, on an odyssey to the Holy Land to plant a tree in Elvis's memory and then to Graceland to say Kaddish -- the Jewish prayer for the dead -- at Elvis's grave. The result is a poignant exploration of identity.